Wicker golf bag



M. FITE WICKER GOLF BAG Jan. 12, 1954 Filed Sept. 25, 1950 mac!!! FITE,

INVENTOR ATTORNEY simplicity,

which according to my invention, is constructed Patented Jan. 12, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WICKER GOLF BAG Marcia Fite, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Application September 25, 1950, Serial No. 186,570

1 Claim.

. 1 r This invention relates to a new and novel golf bag for the carrying of golf clubs and balls, combining features of extremely light weight, rigidity and relative cheapness,

of woven material such as wicker or the like.

While my invention is applicable to large or full-size golf bags, my principal object is to construct a very light and inexpensive article which may be easily carried by the individual golfer, sometimes known as a "Sunday bag. In other words, my invention is primarily intended as a commercial substitute for the light bags now in use made from fabric, usually light canvas. As compared to these, the bag of my invention is relatively far lighter; in fact, I have constructed such bags which weigh approximately 1 pound and 6 ounces, and thus represent a considerable saving in weight. g

Another of the advantages of the invention as I construct it of wicker is that a rigid golf bag is provided without the use of metal stays which are expensive to incorporate in fabric or leather bags, besides adding to their weight. Also, by

my invention I provide a bag with sufficient rigidity that it will stand vertically on its own base, and to. increase this characteristic, I provide a bag having a broadened or flared-out base section.

Another feature of my invention relates to the shoulder strap which I construct of material which will not slip relative to the shoulder. This is an important feature in a bag as light as mine, since the weight of the clubs is considerably greater than that of the bag, and the protruding heads of the clubs when in the bag would tend to allow them to spill out when the bag is carried on a players shoulder. Another feature relates to simple and adjustable fastening means to secure the strap to the wicker bag body without the need for strap adjustment buckles.

A further feature relates to a wicker ball pocket, which according to my invention is separately woven and later lashed to the wicker bag body by a few strands of the same material.

A bag made according to my wicker construction, while not waterproof, compares favorably in this regard with bags of the cheap canvas variety, and my bag will be found to dry out much more quickly after wetting and to be comparatively free from tendencies to stain or mildew.

These and other novel features of the inven-- tion will be further described in connection with a preferred embodiment shown in the appended drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the upper portion of the bag, showing the mode of securing the shoulder strap and handle;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged detail of the ball pocket; I

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating the bottom construction of the bag; and

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the bag. I

The bag body is woven by commencing with vertical wicker elements in the form of U-shaped wicker stays A around which, commencing at the bottom, the base and tubular walls of the bag are woven with lateral strands in the usual manner known in the wicker weaving art as a basket weave. In my bag, designated generally by numeral I0, I prefer to weave the base portion ll so as to have a relatively larger'diameter, tapering it gradually into a bag body of less diameter. To give one example, for a small bag I construct the base with a diameter of 5 inches and the body proper with a diameter of 4 inches.

After the bag body is woven and finished at the mouth [5, the handle I2, which may consist simply of two or more wicker strands I3 and H, may be woven into the bag body and secured by wicker lashings such as l6, Fig. 2.

In most bags of canvas, the ball pocket consists of a stitched panel which forms a pocket with the wall of the bag as the back thereof. In my bag a very inexpensive pocket may be formed by constructing the pocket I! separately. The pocket shown in Fig. 3 is provided with a woven body and a separately-woven hinged wicker top 18 which is held closed by the wicker finger I! passed through loops 20 and 2|. Pocket I1 is secured to the bag body at any desired position as by wicker lashing. The pocket may be secured to the bag body ID at any desired location, e. g. as shown in Fig. 1.

For a shoulder strap I prefer a material of non-slip characteristics, such as the strap shown at 25 in Fig. 1.

As connections for the strap 25 I prefer rings 30 having an interlocking joint and hinge permitting such rings to be opened widely. Rings of this variety with strap 25 of a suitable length stitched thereon, may be inserted into the woven body of the bag I0 at one point near the mouth l5 and at another point down the body of the bag as in Fig. 1, and closed around several strands of the weave such as strands 33, Fig. 2. ()bviously this construction permitsaltering the distance between the points where the two end rings 30 are thus inserted, and the strap 25 may be made relatively slack or taut, thus providing for adjustability of the strap which is ordinarily accomplished by a buckle in the strap.

To give a more specific example of the details of the weave, an extremely light weight bag of my invention may be made entirely of reeds varying from size #1 to #6 and woven with the conventional basket weave. If made 32% to 33 inches tall, it weighs less than 1 pound Bounces. except for the bottom, #6 reed is used for the warp and erect pieces (vertical stays A) there 7 being 15 of these around the circumference. Instead of these, two pieces of reed may be'substituted for each #6. The woof is #5 reed. The bottom is started with #4 reeds for warp-and #1 reed interweaving. After about 1 inch, the #1 reed is changed to #2 reed. The bottom is from 5 inches to 6 inches in diameter. From the edge of the bottom to the top of the bag #5 reed isused as the interweaving material. Two pieces of #7 read are used as handle near the "top.

The reeds which form the radial bottom stays B, Figs. '4 and 5, are projected up the :sides, and it is important that they terminate .at suitable staggered distances from the bottom; if all are the same length, the weight of clubs may allow the bottom stays to pull out from the side structure. 7

Where the word Wicker is mentioned in this specification and appended "claim, I intend to include cane products generally, such as reed, rattan, willow, straw-braid and sea-grass (Hongkong grassi and all other similar materials suitable for use inf'abricating the invention.

What I claim is:

A golf bag formed entirely of woven wicker constructed in basket weave and including a mouth, a rigid elongated tubular body and having an outwardly flaring base at its lower end, all of interwoven wicker elements, the length of said body being substantially greater than onehalf the length of the golf clubs to be contained therein, said body containing a. plurality of longitudinal U-shaped stays of sufficient strength to render the body non-collapsible, a number of additional longitudinal stays in the base having portions bent inwardly at right angles at the bottom of the base portion of said body to form bottom stays, the said number of said side and bottom stays being sufficient to form a self-supporting rigid bag, said body bein of uniform diameterfor a major portion of its length from its mouth downward, and the base portion thereof being flared outwardly to an increased diameter at the junction of the body with the bottom, whereby the bag is capable of standing upright on its base.

MARCIA FITE.

References Cited in the file oi this patent UNITED (STATES PATENTS Number Name 7 Date 217,572 Ballou July 15, 1879 453,940 Rea June '9, 1891 882,935 Enge'l Mar. 24, 1908 1,207,530 Freyer Dec. 5, 1916 1,631,694 Rick Sept. 3,, 1925 1,672,549 Thompson June 5, .1928 1,747,715 Hooper Feb. 18, 1930 1,818,999 Murphy Aug. 18, 1931 1,844,068 Martin Feb. 9, 1932 1,989,473 Costigan Jan. 29, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 20,043 Great Britain Sept. 16, 1893 '27 ,935 Great Britain June 25, 1908 

